Fuel



March 17.y 1925. 1,529,706

C. H. MERZ FUEL Filed Aug. 15, 1925 l nvvf/v/TOP. By W m Patented Menz l?, i925.

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CHARLES IHESTEBMAN HERZ, OE' LONDON, ENGLAND, ASSIGNGR TO ELECTRICAL I 'MI- ZPQVEMENTS LIMITED, OF 'W'.ESGLMNSTEIR, LONDN, ENGLAND, A BRITISH COM FUEL Application tiled .august 13, 1923. Serial No; 656,999.

To all whom it may concern.'

Bc it known that l, CHARLES HESTERMAN Manz, subject of the King of England, residing in London, England, have invented 5 certain new and useful improvements in Fuels, which the following is a speciiication.

This invention consists in improvements in or relating to fuels and has for its object to produce a new form of fuel for use in boiler and other furnaces. lt has previousiy been proposed7 for example in British specifications Nos. 117,290 and 118,777 to obtain solid fuel for large scale power projduction in the form of solid residue 0btained from a low temperature coal distillation process, and insuch cases the hot coke or equivalent residue obtained from the carbonization retort is led direct to the furnace by mechanical or other means. The oiis and gas resulting from the distillation `process are collected separately.

lt is known from experience that a mixture in the nature of a colloid composed of coal and oil enables an inferior quality osi= coal to be satisfactorily burned in boiler or other furnaces, and that it is possible to obtain an improved colloidal condition when the union between the coal and oil is eected in the presence of heat as compared with. the case when the component parts are admined at normal atmospheric temperature.

The present invention 'has for its object to provide a new fuel either in a simple pulverized condition or having the nature of a colloid and accordingly the present invention may he described as comprising a process which consists in pulverizing fuel, when in a heated condition, in the presence of an inert fluid medium from which air or oxygen is eacludejd. The invention is preferabiy carried out when the fuel is heated to a. temperature at which combustion would take place in air.,

.a feature of the invention, by which heat economy is edected, consists in pulverizing the fuel while it still retains heat, for eaann pie by taking as the fuel the residue resulting from a carhonization process, and in p either case the fuel mayin one form of the invention be pulveriaed in the presence of `oil; 'or gas or both.` The temperature at which fuel is pulverized is in such a cese :governed by the temperature. `at which the apparatus.

fuel residue is received in the pulverizin lf the fuel is that obtains from a low-temperature carbonization process` the` temperature ofthe coke entering the pulverizing apparatus will generaly be ap'- proxiniately between 450 and 650 0. and such a temperature range may be taken as the preferred range for the invention.

The ligure inthe drawing shows a perspective view of the apparatus employed.

Apparatus according to the invention comprises in combination a pulverizer. means to enclose it so as to prevent access of air thereto, and means whereby fuel can. be admitted to the pulverizer without admission of a material quantity of air. Means may also be provided for admitting inert gas tothe pulverizer similarly so that the entry of air is for practical purposes excluded.

lThe fuel to be pulverized according to the present invention is solid carbonaceous fuel derived from coal and solid pulverizable fuel nesidues of a like nature, and the term' fuel throughout the specification ands claims, where the context indicates that this term is employed to denote the material to be pulverized will be understood as referring to the carbonaceous -fuel'and fuel-residues derived from coal as above mentioned.

The degree of subdivision to which the fuel is to be reduced will be thatsuitable lfor powdered fuel iiring. Generally the degree of lineness is such that Bft-8570.01: the pulverized fuel will pass through a 200 mesh sieve. `Where pulverizing of the fuel ispreferred to throughout the speciication and claims it will be understood that the degree'of pulverization intended is of the order of that above referred to? although this may be varied within practical limits for powdered fuel ring.

in one preferred manner of carrying the invention into edect, now to be described by way of example only, with 'the aid of the accompanying diagraatic drawin9 fuel residue obtained from a low temperature distillation retort l (heated by superheated steam) is fed direct into an enclosed pulverizing apparatus 2 as above described, for example. by means of a screw conveyor or like 'apparatus 8 operated by a motor 4. The ulverizer may be of the ball-mill type or o? any suitable form which will reduce the fuel to the desired state'of subdivision.

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By feeding the fuel direct from the retort to the pulverizer' by ineans of a screw nconveyor or other mechanical device, entry of airto the pulverizei` is obviated inasmuch as the. fuel will thereby be introduced accoinpanied substantially only by retort gases.

The finely divided fuel thus obtained may Y to the furnace.-grat'ev In the plant illustrated a proportion of the gases from the retort l pass by a pipe l2 to the Crusher 2 or by a pipe 13 to a 'condenser 14.. Cooling Water circulates through a coil 15 in the condenser chamber 14, and is used as heated feed-Water for a boiler which is served by the furnace ti Distillates from the chamber le pass into a. receiver 16 with which communicates an auxiliary oiltanlr 17.. ncondensed gases pass from the condenser lll through a cooler 18 and thence to a gas stripping plant 19 from Which some or all of the lined gas is passed va a pipe 20 back into the furnace 6. y

`Frein the' container 16 a pump 2l serves to pump oil through a pipe 22 leading into the Crusher 2, both the pipes 22 and 13 being containedfor a portion of their length in a heater 2?e lf it is desired to produce fuel having a colloidal nature the oil is supplied to thecrusher 2 by means of the pump 21 so that thevfuel is immersed in oil during pulverisa tion., As will be understood from the diagram the oil employed may be in part oil obtained from the carbonization process, that is the oil condensed in 14e, and is conveniently heat/ed by means of hot retort gases passingthrough the pipe v13 in the heating chamber 23 `which serves as a heatexchanger betvveenthe contents of the pipes i3 and 22c Anv preferred/means in y be employed to regulate the temperature of this heater. i

An advantage of using oil obtained from the carboniaation process is that the oil is available 'in close proximity to the pulver izing apparatus, thus avoiding unnecessary transit of the oil.

lt will be appreciated that the plant fulls the triple function of Crusher, mixer and oil container, in which either pulverization vof the fuel alone or pulverization' inthe presence of oilv can be eected. lf it is desired to e'ect pulverization in the presence of a gas9 the latter can be led. into the pulvera izer casing' by means of pipe l2.

Preferably control inea-ns9 such as noeavoe pump 2i., is so operated as to ensure lthat the non' of oil 'to the Crusher Will be in con rect proportion to the amount of solid fuel supplied from the retort.

lt Will be understood that control means will be installed to regulate the lovv of liquid gases or solid fuel residue as and when required to the various parts of the plant. Pumps or pressure injectors or other control devices for determiningthe amount of fuel to be fed either into the furnaces or into the storage tank, Will if required be provided. lf the fuel is to be adniixed With oils other than those obtained `from the can bonization 'process9 they can be stored in the tanlr l?.

llt is found that a satisfactory fuel can be obtained by crushing the residues aforesaid in the presence of an inert gas, such as C02, or as has been before described, the fuel can be crushed without the delivery of any oil or gas Whatever to the puiverizer other than that quantity of retort gas which may pass into it with the fuel.

lt will be seen that by the present invention hot solid residue obtained from the carbonia'ation process can be converted While still hot, into fuel eminently suitable for direct use in boiler or other furnaces, thus conserving sonic or all of the sensible heat remaining' in the fuel residue when it is discharged from the retort; or alternatively the fuel either in the pulverized or colloidal condition9 may be stored in tanks, but in the latter forni.,V advantage has been taken of the better adrnixt-ure of the component parts due to the adinixin having been effected in the presence of eat.

lVlhatl claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is l. A process for the urpose described., which consists in pulveiazing fuel residuo in a headed'condition in an inert fluid medium from which air or oxygen is excluded. which fuel residue is combustible and is de rived froml a low temperature carbonization process, substantially as described.

2. ,A process for the urpose described which consists in subjecting fuel to a carbonization process and pulverizing the residual fuel in an inert fluid medium from which air or oxygen is excluded, while said residual fuel still retains heat resulting: from the carbo-nization process, substantially as described.

3c A process for the purpose described which consists in subjecting fuel to a low temperature carbonization process and pub verizing. the residual fuel in an inert fluid medium from which air or oxygen is eX'- cluded While the fuel still retains heat resulting from the carbonization processs substantially as described.

Il.. A. process,- for the purpose described, which consists in subjecting fuel to a car- Lessinia the presence of oil and a gas fromI which air or oxygen is excluded, substantiallyas described. l

5. A process for the' purpose described which consists in subjectingv fuel to' a carbonization process end in pulverizing the residual fuel when in e 'heated condition in the presence cf oil extracted during a carbonizaticn process, 'from which nir or oxygen is excluded, substantially as 'described. L

6. A process. for the purpose described which consists in subjecting uel to a. cerbonization process and in pulverizing the residual fuel when in a heated condition in the presence of CO2 from 'which air lor oxygen is excluded, substantially as described.

',7. An improved fuel which is obtained by subjecting solid fuel -to a carbonization process and pulverizing the fuel residue when in a heated condition in an inertl fluid medium from which air or oxygen is Lex eluded, substantially as described.

8. An improved fuel which is obtained by subjecting solid fuel to a carbonizationprocess, and pulverizing the fuel residue in an inert atmosphere from which airl or oxygen is excluded' While said resldue stlll retains heat resulting from the seid carbonization process, substantially as described. 9. An improved fuel which is obtained by subjecting solid fuel to a. cerbonization process und pulverizing the fuel residue in c heated 'condition in the presence of oil and gus from which air or oxygen is excluded, substantially as described.l

10. An improved fuel which is obtained by subjecting solid fuel to acarbonization process, and in pulverizing the fuel residue in a heated condition in the presence' of oil extracted during e. barbonization process, 'from which air or oxygen is excluded, substantially asdescribe y 11. An improved fuel which is obtained by subjectingsolid fuel toa carbonization process and in pulverizing the fuel residue 1n a heated condition in the presence of gas from which air or oxygen is excluded, substantially as described. y

12. An improvedvfuel which by subjecting soli'd fuel to a low temperature carbonizution process, end in pulverizing the fuel residue in a heated condition in the presence of CO2, from which' ir or oxygen is excluded, substantially as described.v

vInl testimony whereof` I aliix my signa' ture.

CHARLES HESTERMAN MERZ.

is l obtained l 

